The latest edition of the Commons register of members interests has revealed George Osborne received a freebie £8,000 helicopter ride from a property-developing Tory donor who stands to benefit from planning reforms. Sounds pretty dodgy, right?

A leading Tory Party think tank has warned George Osborne his tax credit cuts could discourage the lowest-paid from seeking work and told him the government needs to soften the cuts to help poor families.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee — which scrutinises the value for money, efficiency and effectiveness of government spending — has slammed as “woefully inadequate” the number of prosecutions for offshore tax evasion by HM Revenue and Customs.

With devastation set to hit Teeside in the wake of 1,700 job losses at the local steelworks, the credibility of the so-called ‘minister for the northern powerhouse’ has sunk to a new low after he claimed the issue was “not his responsibility” — despite also being an MP for the area.